The Straw Man.
Cristiano Ronaldo
- Thread starter ciderman9000000
- Start date
- Status
The Straw Man.
He's an exceptional player, helped us win lots, has spoken well about the club and we all remember the good times we had with him?
Why? He's a club legend. It's valid.
Yeah, when he spoke about how he was like a slave here... Please...
Probably because he's the best player in the world by some distance, a former Red, and a player who many want to return. Given his positive relationship with Fergie and the players, its likely he retains a positive relationship with the club.
Someone is on a WUM...
Not a club legend for me, he wasn't here long enough. It's the way they still champion him now like what he does at Real Madrid somehow makes us look good.
So he's still on track to break Real's all time scoring record this season? 
Everyone has their own views on what makes a legend and who of our players attain that status. I consider Ronaldo to absolutely be won of our legends. I don't think the fact he was here for 'only' 6 years is something that diminishes his accomplishments, impact and contribution. Cantona is (quite rightly) lauded as one of our legends, despite being here for a year less and playing over a 100 fewer games for us than Ronaldo did in his time here.
Gone up another level this year it seems. Its ridiculous that he's still improving.
Who wants the part with the bulge?
It's fecking weird, agreed.
He's a club icon IMO. Not sure i'd go as far to label him a legend though. It is impressive how he constantly seems to get better and better. Just because you get to a certain age (mid to late 20s) doesn't mean you stop developing. Great lesson for other players.
Its unbelievable how much he is still improving. What I find remarkable is his attitude. When Messi was rightfully being praised as the best player on the planet (possibly ever) a few years prior - from the general public and football fans alike, 99.9% of players under Ronaldo's circumstancss would have just thrown the towel in. But he's gone in the completely different direction. I need a bit more of Christiano's self belief in my life.
That CR7 branding is so tacky. I actually entered in his Lisbon store once out of curiosity but most of the stuff was too flashy or with bad taste. Fair play to him with the money he makes out of it though. Big fan of his footballing ability but i can't stand the marketing stuff (it was the same with Beckham). Not a big consumerist myself.
He left United way too fast, He's connected with Real Madrid in a way he never was with United, the club was just a trampoline for him. I think he could have done a lot more for United and choosed not to, should have been more loyal to Fergie and the team, he just doesn't care too much about the club.
For once i agree with a post of yours. Just not with the last phrase. I think he cares for United but wanted to move after winning everything at the club. The player culture of staying at the club the whole career doesn't really exist in Portugal, like it exists in England.
I agree, of course he is a legend. He is only our 4th player to have won the Ballon d'Or and he was a key player in us winning the PL 3 times in a row for only the second time, won our 3rd CL title with us in addition to the Club World Cup.
I think United fans have the right to be proud of our club having produced arguably the best player in the world. Nothing wrong with being a fan of a player who has left the club under good terms.
Also, United have, historically, a good relationship with Real Madrid - so I don't think that it is weird that some of us has a soft spot for them. Remember that they offered us Di Stefano + the European Cup after Munich. The more "modern bad blood" was just Calderon being an asshat while chasing Ronaldo. A year later Sir Alex got to sell Ronaldo to someone else than Calderon for big bucks, and the player himself got the move he wished for.
I think that's a worry for English players though. I reckon we'd have a much better national team if some of them took the risk and went abroad for a bit. I don't blame people like Ronaldo etc for wanting to leave.
I think he was a brilliant player for the club and do like him, I find the fawning over him all the time a bit cringeworthy as well though. I think there's people who'd rather see him do well as a player than United as a team. I'm sure he has some affection for the club (though it seems more for Fergie than for the club itself when he speaks) but at the same time I think he's just marketed well...they probably know how much some of our fans still love him and pander up to it to make him more money in shirt sales etc.
This is what I find incredible about him. He has more or less not stopped improving as a footballer since we bought him from Sporting. Most world class players would've stopped evolving and begun to drop in form in their late 20s, but he just keeps getting better. Messi, by comparison, seems to be already on the wane at 27.
Its very obvious from this page where your allegiances lie in the Messi vs. Ronaldo debate.
Celebrating the anniversary of his underwear brand with the most ridiculous cake I've ever seen. Also, feck sake, Cristiano. Enjoy life a little and have a proper piece.
Who wants the part with the bulge?
I'm impartial to both. Ronaldo has just been better over the past year or so.
Celebrating the anniversary of his underwear brand with the most ridiculous cake I've ever seen. Also, feck sake, Cristiano. Enjoy life a little and have a proper piece.
Who wants the part with the bulge?
He is insanely good looking
This must another hint to your secret, strongly-held opinions that you have been told not to share by the mods.
Believing this is something that some people like to tell themselves, but has little semblance to reality.
Is he improving or is his team better ? I think he has been able to maintain this same level over many years not that he has gotten better. The team around him has improved so that makes it easier for him and results in more chances and more goals. He hasn't added anything new to his game for me.
I'm not suggesting the majority think it by any stretch of the imagination but the way I see people sometimes they seem to take this weird joy out of Ronaldo doing well compared to ourselves winning. It just seems slightly odd to me. I like him as a player and he seems a nice enough guy but this fairy tale people come up with where he'll one day return and be our lord and saviour is all a bit cringing.
It's funny really, Rooney played the club for more money and got slated for it, despite sticking around. Ronaldo played the club for more money, got a contract then left a couple years later. Since that day all he's ever done for United is appear in a few videos and pretend he's coming back...essentially he uses the club for more money when he wants a contract out of Madrid. The best part is half our fans fall for it every single time. Somehow out of these 2 players the one who's seemingly preferred by United fans? Ronaldo. Despite the fact he still uses the club to this day when he's not even here anymore! At least Rooney stuck around.
I find the unbridled love so many United fans have for a Real Madrid player more baffling than most but even I would stop short of accusing anyone of enjoying a good performance from him more than a good performance/result from Manchester United. Certainly among people on here, although of course it is difficult to prove it one way or another.
Agree with every other word you posted. I find the whole thing utterly cringey. This whole concept of being a fan/supporter of individual players - no matter which club they play for - weirds me the hell out. Reminds me of teenage girls and their obsession with someone like Justin Bieber. The cult of the individual in football is a new concept to me and goes against everything that a team sport should be about IMHO.
Completely agreed.
His success at Madrid doesn't really reflect positively on us, no matter how much some want it to.
He could have stayed longer and given the club more of his peak, but he chose not to.
Good luck to him, but he's much more of a Madrid legend than a United one. I hope he doesn't come back either.
I agree that it is a weird statement to claim that posters take more joy at Ronaldo's performance that at ourselves winning... they aren't mutually exclusive except probably if he does well against us.
The cult of the individual has been around for a long time in other fields and it was inevitable for it to permeate into football after it has become a multi-million business. Basketball is a team sport but the like of Jordan had a lot more fans than the team as a whole.
Yeah, an American poster brought this up when something similar was discussed a while back. So that's just one more thing to add to the list of stuff that Americans have fecked up!
Might not be unique to America, mind you. The cult of the individual seems to be a big deal on the sub-continent too. If the cricket and tennis threads on here are anything to go by. So makes sense that sort of hero-worshipping would eventually translate to football.
Cathal Kelly Syndrome?
I guess it is a lesser evil to "hero-worship" a football player that exhibits certain positive qualities like hardwork and constant self-improvement rather than an adolescent pop star.. but what do i know.....
I have no idea who Cathal Kelly is and I don't really care what qualities people look for in individual sports stars before they commit to life-long worship. Just find it a strange phenomenon in team sports. Strange, not wrong. Obviously no rights or wrongs here.
Pretty sure George Best was hero worshipped and treated like a pop star. The fifth Beatle an' all that.
Of course he was. Football fans have always had favourite players at the club they support and always will do. It's the hero-worshipping that transcends the club they play for I find weird. For example, I doubt you had many United fans getting giddy over every goal Dennis Law scored for City.
I have no idea tbh. Law was before my time unfortunately. But it's hardly surprising in an age where even football journalists fancy themselves as and are being treated as celebrities (which is far more cringe worthy than hero worshipping a player who used to play for you). Football has become ridiculous. The whole thing is a perverse circus, there are far worst aspects of the game to get befuddled about than people having a liking for a charismatic star who used to be a hero at their own club.
if football stars are going to be talked about as heroes by fans and media the world over then it's inevitable people are going to treat them as such. And there's probably more to admire about Ronaldo than most footballers I guess.
if football stars are going to be talked about as heroes by fans and media the world over then it's inevitable people are going to treat them as such. And there's probably more to admire about Ronaldo than most footballers I guess.
I don't think any real United fans love Ronaldo more than the club, and I don't think City can be compared to Real
For sure. There's an awful lot wrong with football today and this is definitely one of the lesser evils. It's not actually an evil, as I said above. Not wrong. Just strange. To me anyway. Strange and a little depressing to someone who really loathes the cult of celebrity in general. Obviously, this loathing is a personal issue which I wouldn't expect everyone to share.
- Status